


A Blank Slate

by Haywire



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/F, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 11:12:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8888656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haywire/pseuds/Haywire
Summary: Eleanor realizes that, while life in The Good Place is pretty awesome, something is missing. Something that's frustrating her. With the help of Tahani, she just might be able to fix that.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moebius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moebius/gifts).



> Written from an early point of s1 of the show, approximately around episode 3 or shortly thereafter to be specific.
> 
> Huge thanks to Morbane for the incredible beta help. :)

Eleanor lay spread out upside down on her couch, her feet hanging over its back while her head hung down perilously close to the floor. She clutched a large book in her hands and was reading quietly, flipping through the pages with a little difficulty, being upside down and all.

Chidi did a double take as he entered the room, stopping in his tracks at the sight. He looked around, turning left and then right before looking back at the couch.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry, did I walk into the wrong house?” he asked. “Is that Eleanor Shellstrop actually _reading_ something?”

“Hey,” Eleanor said, closing the book and shifting her position until she was lying sideways on the couch. “I’ll have you know that I used to read all the time.”

“Backs of cereal boxes and Twitter don’t really count.”

“Ok, well.” Eleanor grunted as she fully righted herself and leaned back on the couch. “Whatever. What counts is that I’m continuing trying to better myself here, right? Right.”

“That is important, yes. What are you reading?” He peered down at the book, which was still on the floor and turned away from him.

“Philosophical stuff, of course.” Eleanor beamed. “You were talking about some old philosophers at our last lesson and their names stuck in my mind, so I asked Janet to bring me some of their works.”

“Oh really? Wow, Eleanor, colour me impressed.” Chidi smiled and bent down to scoop up the book. “Which ones resonated with you?”

“The ones you should’ve started with, dude, Calvin and Hobbes. They’re awesome, I remember them from when I was alive, actually. I was better read than I ever thought apparently.” She pointed to the book and shrugged. “I didn’t even realize it was about philosophy, but here I am, having already studied some of this stuff.”

Chidi flipped the book over and saw that it was a volume of the complete Calvin and Hobbes collection.

“They really make it easy to understand. You could take a lesson or two from them, if I’m being honest, actually.” Eleanor reached up and snatched the book from Chidi’s hands.

“Eleanor…” he started, lifting his glasses up and pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes.

“It’s OK, Chidi. I know you’re proud of me and that I should keep up the good work.” She stood up and patted him on the shoulder. “Good talk, bro.”

He exhaled and just shook his head. “Right. Well, I’m not going to get into that just this moment. I was actually hoping we’d take a break today, if that’s alright with you?”

“Totally, I mean, I’m already on the ball, yeah?” She smiled and plopped the book down on the couch again. “Maybe I’ll take a nap… ooh, or a bubble bath. Yeah, that sounds nice. And I can keep reading more later, so it’s a win-win-win.”

“Three wins?” asked Chidi.

“Yeah - me, you, and, y’know. Everyone else.” Eleanor gestured around the room. “I mean, things have been going well, haven’t they? All because I’m learning all of this ethics cra-”

Chidi coughed and Eleanor caught herself.

“Haha, just testing you, and you totally passed.” She cleared her throat. “All of this ethics which is totally useful and important,” Eleanor elaborated with a nod to her mentor. “It’s all been helping. And Hobbes is totally my favourite, for the record.”

“Let me guess, because he’s a tiger?”

“What? Nah, because he’s…” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Ok, yeah, it’s because he’s a tiger. But, like, a _talking_ tiger, there’s a difference.”

“You should like him because of his examination of the social contract -”

“I haven’t gotten to that strip yet, shh. No spoilers,” she interjected.

“Well, actually, he first started to postulate about the state of nature, to be more precise, but that led to -”

“Chidi, buddy,” Eleanor interrupted, clapping him on the shoulder. “No lesson today, you said, right?” She made a clicking noise and tilted her head toward the bathroom and its beckoning bathtub, raising her eyebrows.

“Right, sorry. I just thought you’d want to hear more about Hobbes.” Chidi pushed his glasses up, then looked at the Calvin and Hobbes book on the couch. “Though I should’ve known better.”

“Later, I promise. I’ve been working too hard though, and I need a break. You said so yourself.”

“Well I didn’t say that _exactly_ but you’re right,” Chidi agreed.

“I am?” replied Eleanor with a slow blink. “I mean, I am. Yes.” She paused before continuing again. “How am I right again? Because I think that this is the first time you’ve ever admitted that I was right, which I was, but in what way?”

“That you need a break,” he said. “From studying, or at the very least from reading all of this…” Chidi pointed to the book. “Literature.”

“Yes, well… OK then.” Eleanor thumbed towards the bathroom again. “So I’m going to go and take that break then. If you need me I’ll be in the tub.” She headed for the bathroom to change, then stopped once she reached the door. “You don’t need to use the washroom or anything first, do you?”

“Oh, no, I’m good. Thanks, though,” he said. “I’ll probably have my own bath later on.”

“OK, that’s fine,” Eleanor said before adding, “Unless you want to join me or something?” She caught herself by surprise and quickly tacked on a loud laugh before Chidi could say anything.

For his part, Chidi just started at Eleanor from where he stood in the living room. His mouth opened but no words came out.

“Totally just kidding, Chidi. Which is so obvious, right?” She continued to force her laugh, while watching Chidi continue to be incapable of speech.

“I mean, not that there’d be anything wrong with that. You’re an adult, I’m an adult, you’re a man, I’m a woman,” she babbled. “I have needs, you have needs too, I’m sure. You have a… a…” Eleanor waved her hand and quickly moved on from that specific reference. “Anyway, you have one, I don’t, they can sometimes work together is all I’m saying.”

Still unable to talk, Chidi finally regained the ability to move and turned on his heel, walking quickly toward the kitchen.

“Not that I want to though!” Eleanor shouted after him. “You can keep your thing and I’ll keep mine and we’ll be OK! Though I’m sure your… it’s perfectly fine, I bet. Awesome even!” She hit her head gently against the door frame as Chidi disappeared from view. “I don’t think about it though! I mean it’s probably just adequate! Or at least, you know. Serviceable!” She sighed and shook her head. “Why am I still talking?” she asked herself.

Once the excess blood had drained out of her face and she regained the ability to move, Eleanor slipped into the bedroom and locked the door behind her. The last thing either of them needed now was an even more awkward naked encounter. She disrobed and slid into a large, fluffy bathrobe before exiting the room.

Thankfully Chidi was nowhere in sight as she made her way through the bathroom door, which she also locked. She turned on the bathtub’s faucets, lifting the catch to plug the drain and running her fingers underneath the tap until she was satisfied with the temperature, before removing her robe and hanging it up.

Eleanor crossed both arms across her chest as she quickly yet carefully padded across the tile floor and got into the still filling tub. She added some bubble bath solution while getting in, which was quick to bubble and spread throughout as she leaned back against the opposite side of the tub, letting one of her feet rest on the lip of the tub in a casual pose.

It was only then that she let herself relax following the exchange she’d just had with her roomie. Had she really invited Chidi into the tub with her, no matter how much of a joke it had been meant to sound? True, they were supposed to be soulmates - even if Eleanor wasn’t supposed to be there - but that didn’t meant they had to, you know. She hadn’t even thought about it before now, she realized, which wasn’t a knock against Chidi. He was a great guy and actually pretty attractive, in an objective sense, she reasoned. He just wasn’t her type; that connection wasn’t there. So why had she made the joke?

Part of her knew why; sex in general had been a big question on her mind as of late. Eleanor had no idea how that kind of thing worked here in the Good Place. She assumed that, had she and Chidi been an actual pair of soulmates, they’d be gettin’ it on like no one’s business. Or, well, that’s what she’d want to do with her soulmate. But given that she wasn’t even supposed to be there, and that she didn’t have a soulmate, she had no idea what she could and couldn’t do.

What if she approached someone else in the Good Place for, well, a Good Time? Would that person be vehemently opposed to relations with someone other than their eternal soulmate? Or, since it was the Good Place, would it be cool to have sex with whomever you wanted? It wasn’t like they could get diseases - note to self, Eleanor thought, ask Janet about STDs and whatnot here - and they were supposed to be happy, weren’t they?

The normal routes she’d use to look into that kind of thing - the internet, Tinder, bars and whatnot - just didn’t exist in the Good Place.

She sighed and sank a little deeper into the warm water. Eleanor was afraid to ask anyone, as she didn’t want anyone to realize she didn’t belong there. And talking to Chidi about that kind of thing, well… she’d just seen how that would probably go from their brief exchange on the topic. There hadn’t even been an exchange, actually, as he hadn’t been able to form a single word.

All of that, coupled with the fact that she hadn’t had a partner in quite some time before dying, left Eleanor in an increasingly anxious state. She’d been able to stave off her desires by her lonesome, but that would only do for so long.

At that thought, Eleanor let her hands sink further under the suds, reaching to touch herself. One hand headed between her legs while the other teased one of her breasts, pinching gently at first and then -

Oh wait, she thought. The thought occurred to her that Chidi might have had similar thoughts when he took baths in there, and that his own hands might have roamed over himself while in the tub. That thought snapped her out of any potential arousal she’d been experiencing and made her audibly groan in frustration.

“Everything ok in there?” came Chidi’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Yes! I’m fine, really, it’s OK” she stammered, looking down to ensure she was still covered with suds even though the door was locked and he was on the other side of it.

“Sorry to bother you, I just wanted to let you know I’m popping out for some frozen yogurt, in case you wonder where I’m gone when you get out. That’s all,” he said.

“Oh, OK,” Eleanor said, a little relieved to know she’d be alone. “I’ll talk to you when you get back then.”

“Do you… do you want me to bring you back anything?” he asked, being Chidi.

“Nah, I’m good, bro,” she answered. “Thanks though, and have fun.” She rolled her eyes at that, because seriously, ‘have fun?’ But at least she didn’t have to worry about Chidi for the time being.

Once she was sure that he’d left - Eleanor was convinced his slam of the door was exaggerated just to be sure she’d heard him leave - she briefly contemplated resuming pleasuring herself again but then remembered her previous thought and didn’t even try.

She had to do something, however, and that’s when she decided to use the only other option available to her.

“Janet?” she asked, blinking as Janet appeared in front of her almost instantaneously.

“Hi Eleanor, how are you?” asked the brunette with her trademark warm smile.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Eleanor answered. She realized that some of the suds which had previously surrounded her had disappeared, however, leaving her visibly naked from the chest up. This was just Janet though, so that was OK, if a little weird. “Sorry for, uh. Y’know.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, Eleanor,” Janet said. “I have been programmed without any ability to detect and or express shame or embarrassment so I do not mind nudity in any way, shape, or form at all.” Her smile continued, which was weirding Eleanor out just a tad if she was being honest but at least it was better than Chidi’s reaction to the topic of sex.

“Ah, OK. Good to know, I suppose.” Eleanor readjusted herself just the same, sliding a bit deeper into the tub and crossing her arms over her breasts. Janet may not have minded but she felt a little more comfortable this way at least.

“Janet, I want to ask you about dating.” She paused and qualified that a little. “I mean, this is a theoretical question, since everyone here has a soulmate and all, but is that something that happens around here?”

“It is permitted, if that’s what you’re asking, but there are no formal services for facilitating it.” Janet frowned a little and rubbed her chin before snapping her fingers. “I could inquire with Michael and I’m sure something could be set up -”

“No! No no no, that’s ok, Janet,” Eleanor exclaimed, sitting up again, nudity be damned. The last thing she wanted was for Michael to hear that she was asking about dating. “I was just curious, that’s all.”

“OK,” Janet said, smile unwavering. “Should you wish me to look into this or any other options, all you have to do is ask, Eleanor.”

“Other options?” Eleanor frowned at the mention of that. “Have there been any other requests for something similar?”

“Oh yes. I have access to a vast amount of data, and there are many instances of free sexual interactions between two or more people across all of our communities. As long as all parties involved are accepting, it’s perfectly appropriate.”

“Two or more people, huh?” Eleanor said with a smirk. “So there’ve been heavenly orgies and keyswapping parties, I take it? Niiiiice.”

“I am not at liberty to discuss exactly who may have taken part in such events, but yes, those are known to have taken place,” clarified Janet. “Would you like me to inquire whether others in this neighbourhood are open to -”

“No!” Eleanor interrupted again. “I mean, thank you for offering, Janet, but we’re all cool here for now.” It was good to hear that it wasn’t strictly forbidden at least.

“Excellent. Is there anything else I can help you with, Eleanor?”

“I think I’m good… no, wait, actually, while you’re here,” she started, thinking about how to best phrase her question. “How does stuff get cleaned around here? Like, say, this bathtub as a random example. Or does it get cleaned at all?” She sure as hell hadn’t cleaned it herself.

“There are subroutines programmed by Michael that automatically ensure the cleaning of each and every home on a regular basis while not in use, on a room by room basis,” Janet explained. “They’re explicitly designed not to be seen, which explains why you have not seen them, of course.”

“Huh. Cool.” As she learned details like that, Eleanor realized more and more why it was called the Good Place. She shifted in the tub and decided it was time to get out, so she waved to Janet as she reached for her towel. “Thanks, Janet.”

“Anytime!” she replied, before winking out of sight.

Chidi had been true to his word and was nowhere to be seen when Eleanor emerged from the bedroom several minutes later, fully dressed. She exhaled a sigh of relief, though she knew that sooner or later they’d have to talk about what had happened. Well, _Chidi_ would have to talk about it sooner or later; Eleanor was fairly confident that she could go the rest of her life - afterlife? - without bringing it up again.

She thought about picking up the Calvin and Hobbes book to continue her studies but since that had led to their last conversation she decided against it. Still, she wanted to impress her roommate by sticking to the whole ‘try learning to be good’ bit so she attempted to work on something else.

-

An hour or so later Chidi came back home to find Eleanor lying on the couch, popcorn on one side of her and a soda in hand, watching a movie.

“Hey there, what are we watching?” he asked. He was trying to remain cool but she could see how awkward he was in asking that question.

“I wanted to study more of what you were telling me before, about the social stuff, so I asked Janet to bring me the movie version.” Eleanor put down her drink and picked up a Blu-Ray case of The Social Network, wagging it back and forth a little. “So far I’m not really learning much, though I’d never realized that Facebook was a philosophical platform. That’s kinda cool.”

“You know that’s not… nevermind,” he said, not getting into it. Instead he walked over and sat down on the couch himself, careful not to upset the popcorn bowl as he did so.

She paused the movie and turned to face him, while he avoided eye contact and stared at the television screen.

“Who- who’s in this again, anyway? I heard it was good but I never did see it.”

“Chidi. We need to talk.” Eleanor picked up the popcorn bowl and placed it out of the way on the coffee table, allowing her to put her feet up on the couch and spin to face him, hugging her knees as they got down to brass tacks.

“You really shouldn’t put your feet on the couch, Eleanor, not while you’re wearing shoes,” he complained.

“Fine.” She kicked her shoes off and then returned to the same position. “There. Better?”

“Mildly.”

“Look,” Eleanor began again, fidgeting a little. “About earlier. The whole, you know. Bath thing.” She put air quotes around the last term.

“Hey, we could call it Bathgate, which would actually be quite clever since there’s an actual place with that same name,” said Chidi. “And here’s a fun fact about Bathgate: did you know -”

“ _Chidi._ Do _not_ try and deflect the conversation. Oh yeah,” she added, nodding her head, “I’m catching on to you. You think I don’t notice when you do it but I do.”

“What about last week when you tried to talk to me about shoes and I turned it around to talking about walking and exercise, which lead to your rigorous yet short-lived commitment to training for a biathlon?” he asked. “You didn’t pick up on it then, right?”

“I forking _knew it_ ,” she said, even though that wasn’t true. “My hammies still hurt, by the way, so if you wanted to hurt me, well, mission accomplished.” Eleanor reached down and absentmindedly rubbed one of her calves. “But you’re not doing it this time, mister!”

He sighed and leaned back into the couch. “OK, fine. But there’s nothing to discuss.”

“Sure there is. And I think we’re going to need a little help, actually. Janet, could you please get me a beer?” Eleanor stuck a hand out and mere moments later Janet handed her an ice cold bottle. “Thanks babe.”

“Would you like anything, Chidi?” asked Janet as she turned and smiled at him.

“Just a glass of water, please,” Chidi replied.

“Water? Oh come on, man. Don’t tell me you don’t like any single kind of alcohol?” Eleanor stared at him and waited for a response.

After a few seconds of silence he finally spoke. “Well, you told me not to tell you, so…”

“Seriously? Not even, like, eggnog at Christmas time?”

“It’s not Christmas time though,” he objected. “Or is it? I... don’t really know how that works up here.” Chidi turned to Janet for guidance.

“You are free to celebrate whatever you wish here, whenever you’d like,” came her reply. “It’s always Christmas, if you’d like, or it’s never Christmas if you don’t like it. The same goes for Easter, your birthday, Hannukah, Diwali, Hallowe’en, Canada Day, Independence Day, Arbor Day…” Janet continued listing off holidays, showing no sign of stopping.

“Got it, J-Dog, it’s all good,” Eleanor said.

“I’ll stick with the water, thanks.” Chidi took the bottle from Janet’s hand a second later, ignoring the exaggerated eyeroll from Eleanor.

“Anyway,” she continued once Janet went poof. “The talk. Heh.” She chuckled at calling it that, shaking her head.

“I already know about… that,” he said, opening his water, “if that’s what you wanted to talk about, though I appreciate the gesture.” Chidi paused to contemplate. “Though I _don’t_ appreciate the implication, now that I think about it.”

“Relax, Chidi, I wasn’t about to give you the whole birds and bees talk. Though I did want to talk about sex.”

“That’s nice, I really don’t want to, though, so thanks anyway.” He got to his feet and looked at his watch. “I’ve got somewhere to be too, unfortunately.”

“Oh yeah? Where?” Eleanor pressed.

“Frozen yogurt?” he tried.

“You just went out for that earlier!” She hit her hand against the back of the couch in frustration. “Look, it’s not about sex with you, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Again, I’m not quite sure I appreciate the implication, but it kind of does, yeah,” Chidi said as he cautiously sat down again. “I just thought after this morning... “ he trailed off.

“Oh, that was nothing, just your typical garden variety awkwardness. Only with an added sexual flavour.”

“Please don’t use that phrase ever again,” he said, wincing.

“What? Sexual flavour?” asked Eleanor with a smirk before taking a swig of her beer.

“ _Eleanor._ ” Chidi looked skyward.

“Oh shush, you love me,” she answered. “I mean, not like _that_ , but you do.”

“OK, OK, well, if it’s not about... _that_ with me, then in what other possible context could you want to discuss it?”

“I just miss it. It’s been too long, you know? And yes, the implication is that I’m assuming you haven’t had it in a long time either but since I know _we_ haven’t since I’ve been here,” Eleanor gestured back and forth between them. “I’m thinking you haven’t been gettin’ any either.”

“It’s not something I’d brag about if it happened, you know,” Chidi said, playing with the unopened top of his bottled water.

“A- _ha!_ ” she exclaimed. “ _If_ it happened. Knew it!” Eleanor clapped her hands together.

“Congratulations, I’m just as stymied as you are.” He folded his arms across his chest. “So… what? You just wanted to rub that in? Or were you suggesting that…”

“No! No no no, not that…” She once again gestured back and forth between Chidi and herself. “Nothing like that. We both know we’re not soulmates and while you are an awesome dude, it’s just not like that.”

“Alright, that’s good to know, as the feeling’s mutual.” He sighed in relief and visibly relaxed back into the couch once again.

“Well, you don’t have to look so relieved, Chidi,” Eleanor huffed.

“What? You just told me you had no interest in me whatsoever in that way, and you’re upset that I feel the same way about you?”

“I mean you could’ve been just a _little_ flattered, is all I’m saying, if you really thought I was coming on to you,” she continued, frowning at him and picking at the label on her bottle.

“Let me get this straight,” Chidi asked, sitting back up and turning to face her. “You’re upset that I’m not interested in having sex with you, even though you’re clearly saying you’re not interested in having sex with me?”

“Not upset, just… frustrated.” Eleanor turned around, throwing herself back onto the couch and propping her feet up on the coffee table while looking upward. “Very frustrated.”

“You know what? I’ve got an idea,” he said.

“If it involves the hot tub I don’t wanna hear it,” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, never mind. You were saying?” Eleanor said, turning her head to look at him.

“I was thinking that you should talk to Tahani about it. And not just because I am really no help to you at all with all of this, but because she’s probably going through the same thing.” Chidi explained.

“You think?” She bit her lip and thought about it.

“Well, we know she and Jianyu aren’t soulmates and very likely aren’t, you know, either, right?”

“This is true, hmm.”

“And she’s a woman, and you’re a woman, so it’d be easier for you both to discuss… womanly things,” Chidi concluded.

“Also you wouldn’t have to discuss womanly things with me,” said Eleanor with a smirk.

“Well that’s just an added bonus, really,” he said. “In all seriousness, though, it could be a way to make a connection with her, which you want to do, correct?”

“You’re right, it would,” she admitted. “There’s so much to talk about, too, like what about if you -”

“Like I said, Tahani would be the best person to talk to about everything,” Chidi interrupted. “Maybe you could see if she’s home right now, even.”

“Alright, alright, hint taken.” Eleanor hopped up off of the couch, draining the remainder of her beer and leaving the empty bottle on the counter on her way towards the door. “I’ll at least see if she’s around, then take it from there.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said, spreading out a little more on the couch.

“And you can read my Calvin and Hobbes while I’m gone, so we can discuss more philosophy later.” She beamed and tapped her right temple. “See? Always thinkin’, this one.”

“Right,” he said. “Well, have fun, I’ll be here when you get back.”

“See ya!” Eleanor waved and left the house.

Chidi considered the book of comic strips for a few seconds before giving in and picking it up. “All work and no play makes Chidi a dull boy, I suppose,” he said to himself as he opened the book.

-

Eleanor’s nerve was draining from her with each and every step she took towards Tahani and Jianyu’s place. It wasn’t that far, however, so she still had enough in reserve to knock on the door upon her arrival. After a split second had passed with no answer she started to spin on her heel, turning to leave.

“Eleanor! What a pleasant surprise! Come in, come in!” Tahani said.

Transforming her twirling into a complete 360 degree turn, Eleanor came to a stop, smiled at her neighbour, and put her arms out. “Hi there, didn’t think you were home. Am I bothering you? If I am I can totally come back later.”

“No, no, not at all. Jianyu is off meditating so it’s the perfect time for you to stop by, I insist.” Tahani waved the other woman forward, closing the door once they were both inside. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“Oh, you know, I was just in the neighbourhood, haha.” Eleanor forced her laugh a little too much, then gestured with her thumb toward the door. “Seriously, I really can come back at another time if that’s better for you, I’ll totally understand.”

“You are a laugh and a half, Eleanor,” replied Tahani as she chuckled. “Come, have a seat on the couch, I’ll go put the kettle on.”

Resigned to her fate, Eleanor nodded and made her way to the couch while Tahani headed for the kitchen. She glanced around on her way, admiring how gorgeous and well kept Tahani’s house was. Not that the home she shared with Chidi was in bad shape or anything, far from it - which she attributed to the magic or whatever of the Good Place - but Tahani’s house just seemed, well. _Better._ Which was appropriate, she reckoned, since Tahani herself just _acted_ better than most people Eleanor knew.

Perhaps Tahani was actually better than her, than a lot of the others in the neighbourhood. Eleanor had no real way of knowing, although she’d begrudgingly have to admit that Tahani probably was better than her at least, since Eleanor technically wasn’t supposed to actually be there. At least she’d managed to cut back on the whole resentment vibe towards Tahani, thanks in part to Chidi and his lessons, she told herself.

She plopped down on the couch, careful not to put her shoes up on this one, and rested one arm along its back. Drumming out a beat on her lap with her other hand, Eleanor leaned her head back when Tahani shouted out.

“Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?”

“Oh, um. Not to be a pain, but do you have any hot chocolate?” she shouted back. “I was always one of those jerks who’d go into Starbucks and order, like, a double chocolate chip frappucino year round, heh. One of those would rock, actually, I wish Michael had put one of those here. I mean they’re everywhere else, right? I’d kill for one of those right now.”

From out of nowhere a double chocolate chip frappucino appeared, surprising Eleanor. Upon closer inspection it wasn’t out of nowhere; rather it was being proffered to her by a smiling Janet who was wearing a green apron.

“Oh, thanks Janet,” she said, taking the drink from her. “That’s not exactly what I expected.”

“Wait, I forgot!” Janet reached out and took the drink back with one hand while reaching into her apron and pulling out a black Sharpie marker with the other. She stuck her tongue out ever so slightly - Michael really did a fantastic job of humanizing her, Eleanor mused - and wrote on the side of the beverage before handing it back over.

Eleanor inspected the addition to the container, which now read ‘Ellanore’ in hard-to-read black scribbles.

“Wow, this is a very authentic frappucino. Kudos.” She lifted the drink in a miniature salute to Janet, who grinned and then disappeared once again as Tahani returned with her own drink.

“I do so love that new addition to her programming,” Tahani said as she took a seat in a chair opposite Eleanor. “I mentioned it to Michael and he had it added in no time flat. Quite amazing, really.”

“Yes, er, quite,” said Eleanor, subconsciously sticking out her pinky finger on the hand holding the drink before catching it and mentally scolding herself. “So, how are things with you guys?”

“The usual, you know. Jianyu has been spending a bit more time in his meditation room lately, now that you mention it, but one could hardly fault him for that, could one? Given it’s his livelihood and all.”

“Yes, one, uh, could not, I should say,” Eleanor replied. “I mean, yeah, it’s what he does, right? Like when Chidi is always reading and lecturing me and teaching me -” She stopped, catching herself. “Teaching me things about his home and stuff. He has so much knowledge to share, much like yourself I bet.”

“Oh Eleanor, you’re such a dear,” Tahani said, waving a hand dismissively at her guest.

“No, seriously,” she continued. “There’s lots to learn here I think, what with all of these people here from all walks of life. And then there’s the whole trying to figure out how this whole place itself works.”

“Now that is an interesting point indeed,” Tahani agreed. “There truly are many, many things we don’t know about this place. For instance, will we age here? What happens when the seasons change, or will they even change at all? Will more people come or go from our neighbourhood?”

“Can we get pregnant?” Eleanor blurted out. Her eyes went wide as she realized what she’d just said before she even met Tahani’s gaze. “I mean, if you wanted to, could you? Not that I want to, but if someone did, could they?” It was an awkward segue to talking about sex but now she had to roll with it.

“That’s a very valid question as well, yes,” Tahani agreed. “Not one for me, either, but an interesting ‘what if’ scenario indeed.”

“It is, because it’s not like we want to stop having sex, yeah?” Eleanor carefully watched Tahani’s face for a reaction.

“Well if one wants to, I suppose, then one should be permitted. It _is_ the Good Place after all.”

Her response yielded nothing about herself, much to Eleanor’s frustration. She fidgeted in her spot, moving her frappucino to her other hand as she readjusted her position.

“Yeah, exactly. And what do you think that means?” she asked. “I mean, with the whole sex thing. Have you and Jianyu discussed all of that?” Eleanor raised an eyebrow expectantly, being more direct in her questioning.

“The thing is that there’s not exactly a lot of discussion between Jianyu and me, unfortunately,” said Tahani with a frown.

“Right, because Jianyu.” Eleanor all but smacked herself in the forehead for forgetting the whole Jianyu doesn’t talk bit. “So you don’t talk but do you…” She trailed off, feeling a bit like how she imagined Chidi felt when discussing the same subject matter with her.

“Eleanor Shellstrop, you gossip, you!” Tahani exclaimed. Thankfully she said it in more of a playful manner than an angry one. “This reminds me of the good old days, visiting the spa with my friends, where we’d dish the dirt to one another.”

“I did that a few times. It was always a good time,” Eleanor lied. She’d never actually had any of those kind of days; whether it was because her friends hadn’t done that or because she’d never been invited she wasn’t sure.

“You just gave me a wicked idea,” said Tahani, snapping the fingers on her free hand. “We should have our own spa day, just the two of us!”

“Spa day? Can we actually do that here?” asked Eleanor.

“Of course we can, don’t you remember where we are?” Tahani put down her tea and stood up. “Haven’t you been to the Blank Slate yet? Michael added it in a few days ago.” She paused and took in Eleanor’s empty stare. “Oh, now we simply _have_ to go.”

“What is it, exactly?”

“Come with me, it’s something that has to be seen, my dear.” She extended a hand out to help Eleanor to her feet, which Eleanor politely accepted.

Her first thought was that Tahani’s skin felt so impossibly soft. Eleanor used her hand to get up, then laid her own drink down.

“Do you need to let Jianyu know where you’re going?”

“No, he’ll be just fine. I’ve never known him to meditate for shorter than three or four hours, and he only just went in before you arrived.”

“Alright then, let’s do this!” said Eleanor with hopefully not-too-obviously-fake enthusiasm. She followed Tahani out of the house, wondering just what was in store for her next.

-

“Here we are!” exclaimed Tahani, waving her arms out as they came to a stop.

Their destination was a large, nondescript building at the far edge of the neighbourhood, which on first inspection appeared completely empty. There were windows dotted all the way around the structure, including the large double glass doors which served as its entrance, all of the glass frosted and opaque.

A small sign hung from the middle of one of the doors. Eleanor took a few cautious steps forward until she was able to read it aloud.

“‘The Blank Slate.’ Huh, what do you know?” She folded her arms and took another step back, sizing up the building once more. “And what’d you say it was again?”

In response Tahani moved forward and opened both of the doors, stepping aside to reveal a huge, empty space inside. The floors, ceiling, and walls were all completely white and spotless, and the building seemed to extend out forever, even if the building outside - while large - did not.

“Um,” said Eleanor, slowly taking a step closer. “That doesn’t actually answer any of my questions, and in fact raises a whole bunch of new ones.”

Tahani pointed to the nearby left hand corner, where another sign hung on the wall. Eleanor walked up to that one and read it aloud as well.

“‘Ask for Janet.’” She blinked and then did as the sign suggested. “Janet?”

“Good day Eleanor!” came Janet’s voice as she appeared in front of her. Eleanor tried her hardest not to jump back but she twitched just a little. It was still going to take some getting used to in order not to have any reaction at all to Janet’s comings and goings it seemed.

“Hi Janet. Er… the sign said to ask for you, so, hi.”

“Hi Eleanor!” Janet repeated.

“Tell her what you want,” prompted Tahani as she gently nudged Eleanor.

“Ok,” she replied before turning back to Janet. “Well, Janet, Tahani here and I were talking about having a spa day and she brought me here.”

Eleanor paused and blinked, and, in that split second between closing her eyes ever so briefly and opening them up again, the building interior had transformed into a large, luxurious spa. There were even numerous people milling about; employees in clean, white uniforms, patrons in various stages of being pampered, and people coming in and out of the building.

“What… the shell… just happened?”

“Isn’t it brilliant?” Tahani exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Michael designed a space where we can literally go anywhere we want, without disturbing the rest of the neighbourhood. Fantastic!”

“Like _anywhere?_ And _anything_ we want?” asked Eleanor. “How… you know what? I don’t think that’s something I could ever possibly understand.”

“It’s extremely complicated but also very fun, and everyone loves fun!” said Janet with a grin. “Enjoy, and just call for me if you need anything!” She then disappeared, leaving Eleanor and Tahani fully immersed in the spa experience.

“And the beautiful thing about it is that The Blank Slate has an infinite number of instances,” explained Tahani. “So if someone else in the neighbourhood comes to the building and wants to go to, oh, I don’t know, a Tibetan temple, he could do so and we’d be none the wiser.”

“Wow. OK, this is awesome.” Eleanor’s mind raced as she thought of all the places she’d love to try, then shook her head, trying to stay in the moment with Tahani. As if reading her mind, Tahani reached her hand out and waved to get the attention of one of the employees.

“Let’s get ready for a relaxing afternoon… shall we start with a massage?” She spoke to the staff member she’d flagged down, who then happily escorted them to the nearby changing rooms.

Once inside, they both walked behind privacy screens and slipped out of their clothing. It didn’t take long for Eleanor to kick off her shoes, pull off her sweater, and shrug out of her jeans. As she took a seat to roll of her socks she looked over at Tahani’s side of the room, where she was disrobing behind her own privacy screen.

The other woman was far more elaborately dressed, and it was taking her far longer to disrobe. Eleanor could make out her outline, faintly but still visible, as she unzipped her dress and wriggled out of it. Then she turned sideways to her line of sight and reached up, presumably to unfasten her bra.

Eleanor gulped and felt a little flushed, then turned her attention back to sliding her second sock off. There was no denying her friend was a bit of a bombshell, and she hadn’t really taken that into account before taking her up on the offer of essentially hanging out with her all day wearing nothing but towels.

“Ready, dear?” called Tahani, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Almost, will be out in a sex! I mean sec!” Eleanor said, grimacing at her lapse. She continued cursing in her head as she stood up, taking her own bra and underwear off before wrapping the big, floofy towel they provided around her body. It felt warm too, wow, this place was the real deal indeed.

Eleanor came out from behind her screen and joined Tahani with the staff member from before. The member then led them into the next room, where two massage tables lay side by side in a beautifully decorated room. Soft music piped through speakers in the ceiling, and there were several aromatic candles lit and spread throughout the area.

“Your masseuses will be here in a few minutes, please make yourselves comfortable.” The staff member, whose name tag Eleanor caught as reading ‘Wendy,’ then exited the room and left them alone.

“This is quite the place, huh? I’ve never been anywhere like this before, wow.” Eleanor hopped up onto one of the tables, turning sideways and unsure whether she should remove her towel or not. She looked to Tahani for clues and also because, well. Tahani.

“Mmm, yes. It reminds me of this darling little place I used to frequent in London, actually.” She gently stepped up to the table, using a small step on one side that Eleanor had completely missed when she’d jumped up on hers. Tahani then lay face down on the table, leaving her towel on as she did so, and turning her head to face Eleanor once she was laying down.

Following her lead, Eleanor did the same thing. Whatever material was that covered the table, it was extremely soft and comfortable, and she sighed as she stretched out. The headrest built into the table was just as comfy, though she mirrored Tahani and turned to face her friend while they awaited the masseuse.

“I don’t think there’s anything like this anywhere remotely near where I lived, to be honest.” If there was Eleanor certainly wouldn’t have had anywhere near the amount of resources needed to go there at any rate.

“That’s such a shame, but at least we’ll both be able to come here whenever we want now, right?” asked Tahani.

“Dude you know it.” Eleanor reached out to give Tahani a fist bump. The other woman hesitated, seeming not quite sure what to do, before awkwardly covering her fist with her hand and shaking it slightly.

“Yes, quite,” she replied.

The masseuses entered before either of them could say or do anything else. Both were tall, blond women, one whose name tag read ‘Helena’ and the other whose name tag read ‘Helga.’ As Helena and Helga approached them, Tahani reached behind her and pulled off her towel.

Eleanor moved to do the same, however she stopped before removing her own towel when she saw Tahani’s now revealed naked form. At first it was just the novelty of seeing someone’s butt because, well, you don’t see that every day. Usually. But then Eleanor realized her eyes were lingering on Tahani’s posterior, and not just lingering but appreciating it. She followed its curves, right up to where it met her back, then back down to the tops of her thighs, admiring her smooth, flowing, flawless flesh.

Wait, what?

Eleanor blinked as she tried to process what was going through her mind. Was she simply marveling at Tahani’s ability to maintain such a curvaceous form, or was there more to it? The butterflies she suddenly realized were fluttering about in her stomach hinted to the correct answer.

Testing that information, Eleanor’s eyes tried moving in another direction, looking up from Tahani’s behind, up along her side, up to a side view of her breasts as they -

Eleanor abruptly stopped her gazing and turned to look down through the gap of her own headrest as Helga’s hands landed upon her, choosing to instead focus on the massage she was about to receive.

-

The massage was heavenly, and it left Eleanor relieved from all kinds of stresses that she hadn’t even been aware she’d been holding. Helga was extremely thorough and professional, to the point where Eleanor had almost fallen asleep at one point, she’d been that relaxed.

Once they were done she and Tahani thanked them both, then the masseuses left the room to allow them to get prepared to leave. Eleanor carefully pushed herself up - it was warm in the room and she may have been a little sweaty - then swivelled around look for where her towel had landed.

Upon turning around she saw that Tahani had done the same, as she was sitting up now and turned facing Eleanor. Despite her best attempts, Eleanor could feel her mouth opening slightly as she saw Tahani’s naked form, this time front on. The other woman leaned over, presumably peering down at the floor in search of her towel. Her breasts swayed as she moved, and Eleanor’s eyes followed right along with them.

Eleanor’s mind snapped right back to wrestling with the same thoughts and feelings it had prior to her massage. She examined Tahani’s nipples, once again wondering was she simply comparing the other woman’s body to her own, or was she actually turned on at the sight? Her areola were darker than Eleanor’s own, though they looked soft and inviting, making her wonder how they felt, how they reacted to touch. She knew how her own responded to one’s hands, one’s mouth, but what about Tahani’s?

And then she wondered about Tahani’s breasts themselves - she’d felt the skin of her hands, how would that compare? She started thinking about their heft, and firmness versus softness, and Eleanor found herself longing to know the answer to those questions. She wanted to obtain said answers first hand.

Having spotted her target, Tahani smoothly slid off the bed and bent down at the knees to pick up the towel. Eleanor’s vision likewise dove down to her smooth, supple behind once again, raising the same questions as before alongside those of her breasts.

Tahani turned around as she stood up, facing Eleanor as she wrapped the towel around her full figure.

Only a few seconds had passed but Eleanor quickly turned around, feeling as if she’d been staring for hours and not wanting to get caught ogling the other woman. She saw her towel as she snapped around, quickly darting out to grab it and wrap around herself.

“I think I’ll rinse off in the shower,” Tahani said. “I usually do that before heading for the sauna, which was my plan.”

“Shower, right. No, that’s a good idea.” Eleanor finally turned back around, clutching her own towel tightly and making minimal eye contact with Tahani. “It’s pretty warm here, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll take a cold - a cool shower, just a little cool. Because warm.”

Tahani just giggled and didn’t say anything, instead she just nodded towards the showers, which were off through another door according to a sign on the wall.

Eleanor made a point of taking her time rinsing off in the shower. Seeing Tahani in the nude had unraveled her more than she’d thought possible, and while her body seemed to be know the reason why he mind wasn’t there yet.

Leaning against the shower wall, Eleanor thought back on any past experiences she may have had with the fairer sex. There hadn’t really been many; she recalled a few times where other women had flirted with her or outright hit on her, but she hadn’t been interested at the time. The more she thought about it, though, it hadn’t been because she wasn’t interested in _women_ , but because she hadn’t been interested in dating anyone at the time, full stop.

So what did that all mean now, Eleanor wondered. She bowed her head under the stream of water, mulling over what she already knew was the answer; she liked women. Eleanor Shellstrop was attracted to women, in the same way she was to men. And that was OK.

She stretched her head back under the water flow, letting it fall across her face and cascade down her body. It felt good to acknowledge that, to accept it. Even if she’d always known it to be the case somewhere deep inside of her, letting that out and admitting it to herself was an extremely satisfying feeling. Eleanor grinned at that and pulled up her hair in one hand, reaching for a shampoo bottle with the other.

Eleanor finished her shower shortly after that and she then headed for the sauna ahead of Tahani, which was thankfully empty. She grabbed a towel to lay over the wooden bench where she’d sit. It wasn’t a very large room, and Eleanor figured they had other ones for more people to use. Then again, she reckoned, since only herself and Tahani had created the whole spa, technically, maybe this was all Michael’s program had made since it was all they’d require.

Before she could wrap her head around that Tahani entered the sauna, taking a towel to sit on as well. She placed it on a wooden bench directly across from Eleanor.

“So this is the part of the spa day where we gossip,” she said with a smile, leaning back against the bench.

“Right, the gossip.” Eleanor struggled to remember what it was she’d wanted to talk about, given what she’d just come to accept about herself thanks to her earlier views of Tahani. That revelation really made her want to talk about _hey, I really find women attractive, including you,_ but she couldn’t just come out and say that to Tahani. Right? “Yeah, no, this would be the place for it alright.”

Tahani laughed and shook her head. “If I recall correctly, you were trying to discreetly ask me about my love life, or at least about my relationship with Jianyu.”

“Oh yeah, that’s what I was getting at, I think.” It all came back to her then, wanting to discuss sex and relationships. That had all been before Tahani’s attractiveness had set her on tilt and literally made her question - and, ultimately, resolve - her own sexuality. Now that sexuality was probably the last thing Eleanor wanted to discuss.

“And?” Tahani teased after a few seconds of silence.

“And… what’s up with that?” she weakly finished. Any ability to ask Tahani for her thoughts on sex and its place in the Good Place in general were beyond her at that moment.

“Well, truth be told… not a lot, actually.” She sighed and looked down at her fingernails for a second. “Which, you know, isn’t necessarily a _horrible_ thing or whatnot, it’s just… frustrating, I think, is the best word.”

“Frustration!” Eleanor exclaimed, slapping her thigh for emphasis. “Yes, that… that is the right word, I think.” She cleared her throat and stopped interrupting.

“Yes, well, you know how much time Jianyu spends meditating,” Tahani continued. “And I completely understand and respect why he does that, it just doesn’t leave us a lot of time together.”

Eleanor winced a little, knowing that all the time Jianyu - Jason, truly, though Tahani didn’t know that - spent inside his meditation room was spent playing video games and listening to music.

“I’m sorry, Tahani. That’s got to be difficult.”

“I know I’m probably just being selfish, but I just wanted to spend more time together, that’s all.” She smiled a little. “Like you and Chidi, the both of you are always together.”

“Oh, well, we… we are, I suppose, yes.” Eleanor didn’t quite know how to approach her and Chidi’s situation, other than to try and keep the focus on Jianyu and Tahani. “You’re not being selfish though, that’s a completely natural reaction.”

“Thank you, Eleanor. That means a lot, truly.” Tahani smiled at her. “We’ve discussed the idea of potentially seeing other people, or rather, I tried to bring it up. He didn’t disagree, but he didn’t add anything either. I don’t really know where we stand, aside from us being _told_ that we’re soulmates, but what does that mean?” She waved her hand in the air. “The whole soulmate thing is just taking some time to get used to, I think.”

“You have no idea,” Eleanor replied. “I mean, sure, Chidi and I hang out a lot, but it’s just not…” She paused, not sure how far she could go with this, but decided to attempt it just the same. “We’re great friends, and that’s nice, but I don’t know how… physically compatible we are, do you know what I’m saying?” She bit her lip as she waited for Tahani’s response.

“I do, yes, and to be brutally honest I’m quite relieved to hear you say that, actually,” said Tahani.

“Oh, dude, you just made my day!” Eleanor exclaimed. “I wasn’t quite sure how to even bring it up because, y’know, soulmates and all, but there’s more to it sometimes than that, right? Biologically or psychologically or something.” She waved her hand, unsure of the correct term.

“There really is, attraction is a strange beast indeed,” Tahani agreed. “And in my case Jianyu isn’t your typical person either, especially when it comes to romantic endeavours and physical contact. At least that’s what I presume.”

“Well, yeah, but there’s a whole ‘nother layer to it all, which makes it all more complicated. Because, believe me, there’s absolutely no reason that I can see why Jianyu shouldn’t be attracted to you.” Eleanor let out a low whistle, then caught herself. “I mean, even someone as, er, _devout_ as Jianyu should be able to pick up what you’re puttin’ down.”

Tahani laughed and shook her head. “If he does, well, he has much more restraint and self control than most people.” She shifted her position and recrossed her legs. “I swear, some days it feels like, well… like a competition. Like I’m constantly in second place, do you know what I mean?”

“I do, yes, but you, second place?” Eleanor was the one to wave a hand dismissively this time. “Tahani, please, you’re amazing. No, seriously, you really are.”

“Thank you, Eleanor, but there’s a lot about me you don’t know, I’m afraid.”

“Well that goes both ways, lady,” she replied. “I’m sure there’s much more to you than there is to me, but you don’t quite know everything.” Eleanor hoped there was a lot that Tahani never did find out about her, chiefly that she didn’t belong there, but she fought to banish that thought to the deep recesses of her mind. “Like what, for example?” She hoped to distract Tahani from asking about herself, but Eleanor also found herself interested and wanting to know more about Tahani.

“Tell me, do you have any siblings, Eleanor?” asked Tahani.

“Nope,” Eleanor answered. “Only child here, which probably says a lot about me, huh? I’m guessing you do though?”

“A sister, yes,” she started. “Our relationship is quite… complex.” Tahani looked down at her hands, rubbing the thumb on one hand along the side of her index finger on the other. “Quite honestly we could be here all day and then some were I to try and get into just how complex it truly is, or. Was.” She looked back up at Eleanor, a quizzical expression on her face. “How does that work now, I wonder?”

“You’re asking the wrong person about that, Tahani. Chidi might know, because he knows everything.” Eleanor paused, afraid that came out wrong - she hadn’t meant he was a know-it-all, he was just legit brilliant. “I mean, he knows everything about, well, everything, dude is smart.”

“That he is. Perhaps I’ll seek his guidance on the matter one day. I don’t want to burden you with all of this, I’d hate to be a bother to you, Eleanor.”

“You’re not, I promise,” she blurted out before thinking. “I mean, we’re… we’re friends, right? And this is what friends do, especially on spa days with the gossip and stuff.”

“You’re right, of course. And besides, we’ll have plenty of time to learn everything we can about one another from now on, won’t we?” Tahani smiled and got up, moving over to give Eleanor a hug. “Honestly, thank you so much, I really needed this today.”

“You’re more than welcome, and right back at you, Tahani.” Eleanor wasn’t sure whether she should stay seated or stand as Tahani approached, and by the time the taller woman got there she was in the middle of standing up so she just stayed there and let herself be hugged. The awkward position placed her head directly where Tahani had tied her towel, smooshing her a little against her chest. Tahani’s scent, even after the massage and shower, was heavenly, and all the previous sexualized thoughts she’d pushed aside while talking about Tahani and Jianyu’s problems came flooding right back.

“Alright, I think I need to get back home, maybe get some rest,” Eleanor said as the hug ended. In truth she couldn’t handle any more nearly naked time with Tahani; if she’d been frustrated earlier in the day she was damn near exploding now.

“That sounds like a marvelous idea. If you don’t mind I may just stay here and let myself steam a bit more,” replied Tahani. “Thank you again, Eleanor, and I’ll talk to you later?”

“You can bet on it, Tahani.” She smiled and got up, ensuring her towel was still tightly wound around her as she headed for the exit.

As Eleanor turned to shut the sauna door behind her she saw Tahani slipping out of her towel, hanging it up on a wooden peg on the wall and lying down on her back on top of one of the benches. She closed the door, unable to look away from Tahani’s naked form until the moment it was completely shut. At that point she softly banged her head against the door, then scrambled to get dressed and get back home.

Once she got home, she called out to Chidi, relieved that there was no response. A note that he had left on the counter - good old Chidi, always leaving a note - confirmed that he’d gone out for a while and that he’d be back in time for supper.

Eleanor practically sprinted to her bedroom, closing the panels behind her and stripping down before reaching her bed. Her mind recounted her earlier visions of Tahani’s body, along with the thoughts and feelings they awoke inside of her, as she vigorously masturbated, burying her face into one of her pillows as she orgasmed (just in case). Afterward she felt just as relaxed as she had after her expert massage, and far more relieved on top of that.

-

Chidi was surprised to smell food cooking on his arrival home, since he was usually the person who made meals in their house. Scratch that, he was the _only_ one who made food in the house.

“Eleanor? Are you making supper? That’s a pleasant surprise indeed, you didn’t have to -”

He stopped when he saw Eleanor seated at the kitchen table, then turned to see Janet standing in front of the stove.

“Well, I _asked_ her to help, so that kinda counts, right?”

“I’m making pancakes!” Janet called out to Chidi, looking at him with a huge grin as she expertly flipped one of them in the air.

“Pancakes? For supper?”

“Look, I don’t know what your favourite food is and everyone loves pancakes, so it’s a win win, right?” Eleanor said.

“Everyone loves pancakes,” agreed Janet as she continued her flipping.

“So I take it things didn’t go well, then,” Chidi said. He pulled out a chair and sat across from Eleanor at the table.

“What? No. Why do you say that? That’s not even… ok, well, not the _greatest_ in a way, but not, like _bad_ bad.” Eleanor rolled her eyes upward for a second, chewing her lip thoughtfully. “Just… _bad_ in one sense.”

Before Chidi could ask her to elaborate, Janet brought over the stack of pancakes, all of them perfectly cooked and round in shape. She then placed a full bottle of syrup, a plate of butter, and a bowl of powdered sugar next to them.

“Thank you so much Janet,” Eleanor said. Janet nodded and disappeared into thin air once more.

“Can you explain what you mean by _bad_ , then?” he asked while helping himself to some of the pancakes.

“Well, remember how I told you about being frustrated earlier?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Not anymore,” Eleanor said. “Hurray?” She raised both her hands up in a small victory pose, waiting for his reaction.

“What?” His eyes went wide, the forkful of pancake he had scooped up hovering between his plate and his mouth. “Who did… wait, are you saying -”

“No, there’s no one involved, I swear!” Eleanor interjected. “It was, y’know. Just me taking the ol’ bull by the horns. So to speak.”

Chidi moved once again, finally eating what he’d put on his fork and chewing quietly as he processed all of that.

“I mean, talking to Tahani was a big part of that. She’s… yeah. We had a day together that helped me work past the whole frustration part,” she said.

“So what you’re telling me is that you find Tahani attractive,” Chidi finally said once he’d finished that mouthful.

“Dude _everyone_ finds her attractive. You _have_ seen her, right? You do too I bet.”

“Eleanor -”

“Anyway, anyway, that’s not the focus here, Chidi.” Eleanor sighed, cutting up one of her pancakes and slipping the piece around in some of the excess syrup on her plate. “The real question is have you noticed anything strange in the neighbourhood today? Since, say, an hour or so ago?”

“No, everything’s been normal. Or at least what passes for normal in a place such as this, I suppose.”

“Ok, phew. Good. Good good good.” Eleanor drummed her fingers on the table. Her revelation hadn’t changed anything it seemed, which was a very good thing.

“I suppose that answers at least part of your question then?” asked Chidi.

“It does, though I still feel kind of guilty,” she admitted. “She has a soulmate, even if she doesn’t know she’s not actually with her real one, and I’m guessing that I have one out there somewhere, right? So isn’t it still a bad thing to think about, um, ‘relations’ with someone else?”

“Well, this is hardly a unique situation, Eleanor,” Chidi explained. “Infidelity, in either the real or imaginary sense, has been something mankind has had to deal with since the dawn of time, essentially.”

“Fantasizing about someone other than your actual partner is not that uncommon a thing. It’s been studied by psychologists and anthropologists both, looking into our need for both attachment and romantic love versus our sex drives.” He reached for the powdered sugar, sprinkling some on his plate as he continued. “Some think humans are slightly polygamous while others think we’re ambiguously monogamous. What’s interesting is -”

“OK, Chidi, oh my god.” Eleanor interrupted. “That’s a whole different thing than the whole ethics thing you’re teaching me.”

“Actually -” he started, stopping when she raised her hand again.

“Listen, I may not know exactly what anthropologists do, but I know it’s nothing to do with ethics.” Eleanor paused, fork mid-pancake. “At least I don’t think so. It’s like dinosaurs and shirt, right?”

“There are physical anthropologists and social anthropologists, so technically there’s some crossover, but you’re right, ethics isn’t a major part of their studies. Debatably,” he quasi-conceded.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, now, was it?”

“Anyway, back to your actual question,” Chidi said. “You yourself are not in a relationship, and neither is Tahani, whether she realizes it or not. So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what you… you know. Your actions, and please,” he continued, raising his hand to stop Eleanor from speaking as he saw her open her mouth, “ _please_ don’t go into any more detail about it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I just do not need to know.”

“Relax, I wasn’t planning on it, Chidi.” Eleanor smirked a little just the same. “But thank you for saying that. It crossed my mind that it’d be OK but I was really worried that it’d start raining things again, or that, I don’t know, we’d get a hurricane or something because of it.”

“You’re welcome.” He got up and took a bottle of water out of the fridge, opening it on his way back to the table. “So what did Tahani have to say about it all?”

“Apparently she’s feeling sort of the same. Well, we didn’t get into the whole sexual part of it, but she did say she was a little frustrated in her relationship with Jianyu.” Eleanor shrugged. “I’m not sure I was much help to her, truthfully, but I think I want to be. And not just because, you know, jaw droppingly gorgeous woman, but because I know how that feels.”

Chidi smiled as he took his seat again. “You may not be such a lost cause after all, you know, Eleanor Shellstrop.”

“Wait who said I was a lost cause?” she asked.

“Nothing. Never mind. Hey, these pancakes are great, aren’t they?”

She scooped up one of the little bricks of butter and flicked it at him with her spoon. It missed him entirely but they both smiled at one another just the same.

-

The next day Eleanor went to visit Tahani once again. No one answered when she knocked on the door, but as she turned to leave she could hear noises coming from the back of the house. 

She headed to their backyard to explore, and was shocked to see the ground covered with several inches of snow, with more falling in an extremely localized area comprised of their yard.

“Whoa,” Eleanor said. “What the fork?” She remembered that she was only wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans and instinctively covered her arms, but she wasn’t any colder than she’d been moments before in the sun.

“Hi Eleanor,” said Tahani, working on a snowman in the middle of the white field. She dusted snow off of her mittens and trudged over to the fence. “Come on in, it’s OK,” she said, indicating for Eleanor to open the gate and come in.

She did so, still wondering why she didn’t feel any different even though she was now walking through snow. “How is this possible?”

Janet appeared next to her, holding out a winter jacket. “Michael created microclimates for all the inhabitants here. You’re always exactly as comfortable as you want to be, no matter what the weather is. So you don’t really need this, but it’s nice to look the part sometimes, or so I’m told.” She smiled and also pulled out a set of mittens for Eleanor to take.

“Huh. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised, but son of a beach this is amazing.” Eleanor took the jacket and mittens, putting them on just as Tahani reached her.

“It really is, I wanted to try something different today and here we are.” Tahani grinned, gesturing to the snowman. “You know I’ve never made one before?”

“Never? Oh wow, really?” Eleanor made her way over to inspect her handiwork. “Not bad for your first one ever, actually. You just need a carrot for the nose.”

“Janet?” asked Tahani, and within a few seconds she had a large carrot in one hand, which she carefully screwed into the snowman’s head. “And voila, I think that does it, yes?”

Eleanor clapped her hands, which wasn’t very loud thanks to her mittens, but Tahani smiled at the gesture nevertheless. “A work of art. So wait, does this mean you’ve never made snow angels either?”

“I’m not entirely sure I know what they are, honestly,” Tahani confessed. “Could you show me, please?”

With a wicked grin Eleanor looked to make sure there was enough snow on the ground, then gently pushed Tahani down onto a nearby pile before jumping down next to her.

“Like this!” She started waving her arms and legs back and forth before Tahani could ask her why she’d pushed her down. Tahani began moving in the same fashion, laughing as they both stuck their tongues out to catch the fat, slowly falling snowflakes as they fell.

After a while Eleanor leapt to her feet, offering Tahani a hand to get back to hers. They examined their handiwork and proclaimed it a success.

“That one kinda looks like Michael, if you squint a little,” said Eleanor. “OK, a _lot_.”

“Can we name the other one Janet then?” asked Tahani.

“Sure, why not? They’re ours, we can do what we want with them.” Eleanor pointed to the ersatz Michael and Janet. “Alright, stay cool you guys. I think I need to go inside for some hot chocolate or something.” Even though she wasn’t cold - thanks to the microclimate thingy that Janet had explained or whatever - it was a natural progression for her.

“That sounds positively lovely, let’s.” Tahani nodded in agreement and lead the way to the back door entrance of her house.

“How’s Jianyu doing?” Eleanor asked as they made their way inside, peeling off her jacket and mittens once she was through the door. She instinctively looked for a heater on which to place her wet items of clothing but then remembered she didn’t need to - they weren’t wet and the house didn’t need heaters.

“He’s well, thank you, I’ll tell him you asked after him. He’s meditating again, as usual,” Tahani noted. She went to the kitchen and took down two mugs from the cupboard. “Now, do we have any hot cocoa here or do I need to ask…”

Janet appeared, holding two steaming mugs of hot cocoa, one in each hand. “Here you are!” She placed them on the counter in front of her before taking a step back, then plopping a large marshmallow into each one.

“Janet you are the absolute forking best.” Eleanor wrapped both hands around her mug, carefully at first in case it was too hot, but then she remembered the whole microclimate thing. “Hey, does the micro thingy also protect us from things that are too hot?”

“Yes, including both actual hot items and food items such as hot peppers, chili peppers, jalapenos -”

“Awesome. Ok, thanks so much Janet,” said Eleanor, not really wanting to cut her off but knowing from past experience just how long she could keep going if they let her. The helper disappeared with a smile.

“This is really tasty,” Tahani said, picking up her own mug and taking a sip. “Just enough milk too, kudos.” She raised her jug in a salute to the absent Janet.

“So, how are _you_ doing?” Eleanor asked, pulling out a chair and sitting at the kitchen table. She observed just how much nicer Tahani’s table was than hers, and made a mental note to maybe have Janet help her pick out something new later on.

“The same, I suppose,” Tahani replied, taking a seat opposite Eleanor. “We talked last night - or, rather, I talked and he nodded in agreement, but I think I’m going to make my own special room, akin to his meditation room.”

“Oh hey, that’s a great idea, Tahani.” She grinned and hoisted her mug to toast to the idea. They clinked mugs very carefully, as they were filled to the brim, especially with the marshmallows inside of them.

“Yes, quite. Though I must admit, I don’t really have any solid ideas as to what I’d exactly _do_ with the room, but having one is a nice notion.”

“Equality and all that, totally.” Eleanor nodded in solidarity. “Have you started working on it yet?”

“A little, yes,” said Tahani. “Would you like to see?”

“Sure, lead the way.” She left her mug on the table and followed Tahani up the stairs to the second level of their house.

The hallway at the top of the stairs branched out to several rooms. Tahani headed to the one the furthest away from the stairs, pointing out the other rooms to Eleanor as they walked.

“That’s the loo, here’s the master, this is a spare room where we’ve taken to stashing things, and this here’s going to be my room.” Tahani opened the door, revealing a room that looked a little larger on the inside than Eleanor anticipated.

The walls inside were painted a different colour than the rest of the hallway, and Eleanor lightly dragged her fingers along it as she entered. It was a pretty shade of dark red, which matched well with the dark hardwood floor. She looked around at the rest of the room, which was currently furnished with what appeared to be hand carved wooden furniture; a lovely armoire stood in one corner, a dresser with several large drawers in it stood kitty corner from it, and a large sled style bed rested directly in the center of the room. An intricate, handwoven rug tied all of it together.

“Ok, this is beautiful -” Eleanor started, turning to face Tahani.

Only Tahani was already standing right next to her when she finished turning around. Her eyes locked on Eleanor’s, and she reached up and brushed back some of Eleanor’s hair, tucking it behind her ear.

“Might I kiss you?” Tahani asked, while still working on placing her blonde hair into place.

Eleanor nodded in reply, not daring to break the silence by saying something that could spoil the moment. With that, Tahani embraced her, pulling her closer and tilting her head just _so_ and then...

Then Tahani kissed her. Softly, slowly. It lasted for little more than a second or two before she pulled away, leaving Eleanor standing there with her eyes still closed.

“I’m sorry, was that too forward of me?” asked Tahani, while still holding onto Eleanor.

“Not at all, no,” Eleanor blinked, her eyes remaining open from then on. “But you… you just kissed me.” She looked down at Tahani’s arms, which were still around her. “And you’re holding me. Which, hey, I’m not moving so.”

“I did, and I am,” Tahani confirmed, not moving away either.

“I know I shouldn’t ask why, but…” Eleanor looked up at Tahani, the question evident in her face.

Tahani backed away, letting go of her as she looked around the rest of the room. “This room really is lovely, isn’t it?”

“It, uh. It is, yeah,” replied Eleanor with a frown, not really following where she was going.

“Our recent discussions got me to thinking,” Tahani started. “Jianyu has his own room, which allows him to follow his own pursuits. So I decided I should have my own room, to do the same. And then I realized, one does not require a room in order to follow one’s own pursuits.” She turned back to Eleanor. “Which made me realize what I really did want to pursue. Or, rather, _whom_ I really wanted to pursue.”

“You’re pursuing me?” asked Eleanor. “I’m worthy of pursuit?” She was flattered, even if she didn’t think that it was necessarily true. She didn’t belong there, so why should one of the Good Place’s residents want to pursue someone like her?

“You are, Eleanor, more than worthy. I just hope that you believe that I am the one worthy enough to do the pursuing.”

“I’m a little confused,” she replied. “By pursuing is that, like. Courting, or pitching woo, or, or. I don’t know, I don’t really speak English.” Eleanor quickly added, “Not formal, fancy English, I mean. Ugh, I’m messing this up so bad.” Another pause. “Badly?”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Tahani said with a chuckle, unable to stop from laughing just a little. “I do prattle on at times, and for that I do apologize. But yes, I mean dating. I mean that… that I’d like to date you, Eleanor Shellstrop.”

“That’s what you’ve decided, then?” asked Eleanor, a ghost of a smirk on her lips as she caught on, glad that she hadn’t misinterpreted Tahani. The kiss itself had been hard to misinterpret but it was good to be certain of these things.

“It is indeed,” said Tahani. “I’ve also decided that, while Jianyu may be my soulmate, we’re not exactly compatible on every single level. Talking to you reinforced those feelings, which I’ve been having for some time now.” She paced a little throughout the room, walking over to one of the large windows on its other side. “And I gather that, while our situations are fairly different, you’re finding the same thing with Chidi, yes?”

She nodded in reply, not moving from the spot where she’d stood when Tahani had kissed her.

“I also saw how you were looking at me yesterday, Eleanor. I mean, it was sort of difficult _not_ to see it. And then, when you wanted to talk to me about frustrations and whatnot, well.” Tahani folded her arms and turned back to Eleanor once again. “It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure it all out, now, does it?”

“I guess not, no,” she admitted. “So… what now?”

“I have to admit, this is all pretty new to me,” Tahani said, walking back towards Eleanor. “I don’t just mean being intimate with another woman, either, but with affection in general. You see, my sister was always the center of attention while I was alive, in all ways, shapes, and forms.” She counted things off on her fingers. “She always had more friends, better grades, fairer suitors, it goes on and on. Why, even my parents…” Tahani trailed off before shaking her head.

“Any road, my sister isn’t here now, and I must admit I’m not used to being the focus of attention, even if not from lack of trying.” Tahani chuckled a little, then turned back to Eleanor, placing her hands on her shoulders. “But you, my little dove, you’ve readily given me just that.”

“I try,” said Eleanor, still unsure what to do or say.

“Which went a long way toward clearing up some of my own frustrations, and I’m guessing that it may have helped with yours as well?”

Eleanor’s blush was the only answer Tahani needed. She gave a light laugh, pulling her in for a hug.

“I can’t promise to know what I’m doing, or where this may go, if I’m being honest,” Tahani said, still hugging her. “But I think this is right, and more importantly it just… well, it _feels_ right, doesn’t it?”

Finally getting the courage to move, Eleanor raised her arms and hugged her back tightly. “It does,” she said, marveling at the other woman’s warmth, feeling it even through her clothing. “It’s the first thing that’s felt right since I’ve arrived, actually. Well, other than me and Chidi being bros, of course. Wait, no, Chidi and I?”

Tahini laughed and squeezed her a little. “Alright. Shall we see where this goes, then?” she asked, pulling back slightly to look Eleanor in the eye.

Her response was to reach out with one hand, slowly pushing the door closed, while still holding Tahani with the other.


End file.
